General Terms and Conditions

1. Van As Advocaten is a trade name of Van As Advocaten B.V. (hereinafter: the Company) that has its registered offices in Nieuwegein, s-Hertogenbosch, Vianen and Uden. The company has been recorded in the Commercial Register of the Chamber of Commerce under file reference number 30064651. These general terms and conditions apply to all instructions to Van As Advocaten, as well as to all work carried out by or on behalf of Van As Advocaten.

2. Instructions are solely accepted and executed by the Company. The execution of the instruction shall be done exclusively for the benefit of the party instructing, third parties can not derive any rights from the contents of the work and/or advice provided. The applicability of sections 7:404 and 7:407, paragraph 2 of the Dutch Civil Code is excluded, also if the instruction has been given to one or more specific person(s). Instructions lead to obligations to perform to the best of one’s abilities, not to obligations to produce a certain result, and do not involve a strict deadline, unless it has been agreed upon otherwise explicitly in writing. The party instructing guarantees the correctness and completeness of the instructions and information provided by it.

3. Liability of the Company and the lawyers that it employs is accepted only insofar as the consequences thereof are covered by its professional liability insurance. The Company has taken out professional liability insurance for an insured amount of € 1,250,000.-. This amount can be increased following a request of the party instructing. Each claim is limited to the amount paid within the framework of this insurance in the relevant case, increased by the excess amount. If and insofar for whatever reason no payment is made by virtue of the aforementioned insurance, and the Company or one of its lawyers still has to pay for the damage, all liability is limited to the amount of the fees charged by the Company for the case in question with a maximum of € 50,000.-.

4. When engaging third parties, the Company shall consult with the instructing party as much as possible in advance. The Company can not be held liable for any failure to perform whatsoever on the part of these third parties and shall have the right to accept liability insurance from any third party it engages also on behalf of the party instructing, without prior consultation of the latter party. If the execution of an instruction requires the Company to engage, in consultation with the party instructing, a (legal) person established outside the Netherlands to carry out activities within the framework of the instruction, the Company cannot be held liable for any errors made by this person.

5. The party instructing shall indemnify the Company for all compensation due because of any claim from a third party, inclusive of costs of legal support, that are related in any way to the work carried out for the party instructing.

6. The execution costs of the instruction carried out by the Company consist of the actual fees and so-called disbursements. Unless explicitly agreed otherwise between the parties and/or dictated otherwise by the nature of the instruction, the fees are calculated on the basis of time spent and the applicable hourly rate for the relevant instruction. The disbursements consist of the costs actually incurred by the Company within the framework of the instruction and paid for the benefit of the party instructing, such as, inter alia, court fees, bailiff’s fees, costs of travel, costs of extracts etc. In addition the disbursement shall include office costs of the fixed amount of 8% of the fee. The company reserves the right to adjust the hourly rate agreed upon every year effective from 1 January.

7. Invoices of the Company are due and payable 14 days after the invoice date. In the event of failure to pay within this term, the party instructing is in default without a notice of default being required. Any invocation of a suspension or a setting off is not allowed. If an invoice is not paid within the payment term, collection costs and a monthly interest of 1% of the amount of the invoice shall be due. If payment is not made within the payment term, the Company reserves the right to suspend all activities for the relevant instructing party, subject to prior notice. The Company can´t be held liable for any damage caused as a result of these activities being suspended.

8. The legal relationship between the Company and the instructing party and/or other parties using its services is governed by Dutch law. Disputes shall be resolved exclusively by the competent Dutch court in Utrecht.

9. The Company has an arrangement for complaints that has been published on its websites. All rights of action and other entitlements of whatever nature the party instructing can rely upon against the Company shall lapse in any case within one year of the moment the instructing party became aware or could reasonably have been aware of the existence of these rights and entitlements.

10. The provisions stated in these general terms and conditions have not solely been stipulated for the benefit of the Company and the lawyers it employs, but also for the benefit of all other staff it employs and/or any anyone else carrying out activities for the Company, or who have done so in the past.

11. Upon completion of the instruction, the party instructing shall be provided with original documentation, if so requested. Dossiers are filed for a period of seven years, after which they are destroyed and disposed of.

12. These general terms and conditions are available both in the Dutch and in the English language. In the event of a difference in interpretation of the provisions thereof, the Dutch text shall prevail.